LABUAN BAJO, Indonesia, May 10, 2023 (AFP) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo called Wednesday for “unity” among Southeast Asian nations, as they come under growing pressure to end the violence ravaging Myanmar or risk irrelevance.
Turmoil in junta-ruled Myanmar has dominated talks at this week’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Indonesia, as the regional bloc faces criticism for its perceived inaction.
ASEAN has led diplomatic attempts to resolve the crisis, but its efforts so far have failed to stem the bloodshed unleashed by a military coup in 2021.
The junta has shunned international criticism and refused to engage with its opponents, which include ousted lawmakers, anti-coup “People’s Defense Forces” and armed ethnic minority groups.
An air strike on a village in a rebel stronghold last month that reportedly killed about 170 people sparked global condemnation and worsened the junta’s isolation.
Pressure on the regional bloc increased Sunday after a convoy of vehicles carrying diplomats and officials coordinating ASEAN humanitarian relief in Myanmar came under fire.
Addressing his ASEAN counterparts Wednesday, Widodo said he was “confident” the 10-member bloc could deal with growing global challenges if its members were united.
“With unity, ASEAN will be able to play a central role in bringing peace and growth,” Widodo said as he opened the leaders’ session of the summit.
Foreign ministers and national leaders meeting on the Indonesian island of Flores are trying to kick-start a five-point plan agreed upon with Myanmar two years ago after mediation attempts to end the violence failed.
Myanmar remains an ASEAN member but has been barred from top-level summits due to the junta’s failure to implement the peace plan.
Ahead of the arrival of officials in Labuan Bajo, the army deployed more than 9,000 personnel and warships to the small fishing town that serves as the entrance to Komodo National Park, where tourists can see the world’s largest lizards.
Jakarta’s chairmanship of the bloc this year had raised hopes ASEAN could push for a peaceful solution, using its economic weight as well as its diplomatic experience.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said Friday that her country was using “quiet diplomacy” to speak with all sides of the Myanmar conflict and spur renewed peace efforts.
But a senior Indonesian minister said Tuesday that ASEAN was at a “crossroad” and risked becoming irrelevant if it failed to deal with Myanmar and other regional emergencies.
ASEAN’s charter principles of consensus and non-interference have hamstrung its ability to stop the violence in Myanmar, which critics say poses an existential threat to the bloc.